Thermal Image Camera

[Flylead]

I can't find any newish queries/posts on this topic so I hope someone can help please.
I'd like to buy an economically price thermal image camera, preferably something that will do heat loss images as well as hot spot identification would be nice.
Is there anyone who has an insight on what provides good value for money and would like to share their expertise?
Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Bruspark]

For a couple of hundred £ you can get a basic thermal camera from FLIR and the like that will clip onto your phone and 'picture a thermal scene' nicely. The thermal part of the blended visible+Thermal image is low resolution so small hot spots may be missed. 'Spot' Temperature accuracy is only approximate and they tend to lose the plot after a few minutes as the unit and the imaging sensor heat up. They are useful for finding heating pipes, identifying major problems and keeping kids amused over rainy weekends.

For 'pro use' you will need to move up and get something like the FLIR TG267 which has higher resolution themal sensor, doesn't seem to have overheating problems, internal screen and battery and ability to save snapshots and automatic alignment of the visible and thermal images along with more precise spot temperatures. I paid about £350 +VAT

This never fails to amaze me at jobs like identifying one small hot component on a large board or even very slight heating in cable connectors /terminals
The Kids are not allowed to touch it.

Like most things in this game the cheapest option is rarely the one the pros are using as 'time' and 'things missed' cost money and even reputations

 

[Andy™]

ive got a cheap basic flir. good at finding warm / hot connections in DB's etc but the resolution isnt all that great compared to the better models so it does have its limitations